Life saving vest



July 19, 1932. LEHMANN 1,868,210

LIFE SAVING VEST Filed Nov. 20, 1929 avweutoz A.Lehmarm' Patented July 19, 1932 ALBERT LEHMANN, oriin tooxnrnnnwyonx LIFE SAVING vns'r- Application filed November 20, i929. Serial 1101408491.

The main object of this invention is to provide a vest which is to be worn atsea for the purpose of adding buoyancy to a person to keep the person floating in the'sea.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide a life saving vest'equipped with air bags which may be inflated or deflatedby the person using the vest and is adapted to be donned when danger becomes imminent at sea..

The above and other objects will become apparent in the description below in which 7 characters of reference refer to like-named parts in the drawing.

. Referringbriefly to the drawing, Figure 1 illustrates a perspective View of the vest with the air bags in inflated condition.

Figure 2 is a side elevational View of the vest illustrating the locations .of the several gas bags of the vest.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral 10 indicates the vest proper, which is adapted to be slipped overthe upper portion of the body by inserting the head through the neck opening 13. This vest body is formed unitary and is composed of two layers of material, an inner layer of duck or similar tough'textile material and an outer layer of durable rubber or cat-gut having long preservative qualities. 'The upper cornersof the vest body 10 are provided with armlet openings 11 and 12 through which the arms are slipped. The lower portion of the vest body encircles the waist line and .a girdle string 14 is embedded in the laminated layers of material in loose condition. The ends of this girdle string pass through perforations 15 in front of the vest body and are adapted to be tautened and knotted when worn so that the lower portion of the vest body will not flex nor fold'upwardly. On the front area of the vest which covers the breast portion of the bodya plurality of enclosed semi-circular, longitudinal bags 16, 17, and 18 are formed} The samenumber of bags arranged in the same manner and indicated by the numeral 19 are provided on the rear surface of the vest'in the region of the back of the wearer. Each set of air bags is inter-communicating and are joined at their upper ends by branch pipes 20. The central gas bag 17 of the front set of bags has an inflation tube 21 communicating therewith,

said inflation tube extending upwardly beyond the marginal edge of the neckopenin'g a suliicient distance to permit the trip valve 22 at the termination of the tube 21' to be inserted into. the mouth when it isdesire d to inflate the bags in the front of the vest. The central bag of the rear set of bags 19 is in- 'flated through a tube 23. whose end is re;

tained in convenient position beneath a sllient clamp '24:, and at its end is sealed by This type of vest is adaptedtobe worn during periods when danger exists upon board a ship at sea or under conditions where it might 'an ordinary type of valve 25, which is adapt" ed tobe inserted into the mouth. l

an Z

be necessary for persons to risk their lives in the sea at a time when a vessel upon which they are passengersflounders or in other ways becomes lost. 7 t such times and at the time" when danger becomes imminent these life saving vests are adapted to be donned by the passengers and crew of the vessel. The bags, until the danger becomes actual, are deflated and the persons wearing these lifesaving de vices may continue with their labor ortheir pleasure until a few minutes before the person actuallylaunches himself in thesea. At this time the user of the life saving. vest will insert the valve 25 or the valve 22, or both,-

into the mouth and will thereby inflate the sets of air bags simultaneously or successively. After these bags are filled with air, a simple and quick operation, the lifesaving vest is ready for duty and will retain a person in buoyant condition for an intermediate period of time, or until such time as means of rescue have arrived.

It is to be noted that certain changes form and construction may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the-- invention.

v I claim: 1 A device of the class described comprising a vest covering the upper portion of the body; 7 I 1 a girdle string on said vest for tautening the open end of said vest aboutthe waist of front and rear of the .vest projecting from the surface of said Vest, said gas bags extending yertically onsaid vest, branch tubes connects ing the individual gas bags of each set; an inflator tube communicating I with one bag of said front set, a second in v fiatoitubeooimmunicating with 'o'nebag of saidrear set; means on saidjest'for retaining v the open end'of sa1d rear lnflatortube ad-- jacent the shoulder of the vest 'whenvnot in use, and closure valves on salid inliator'tubes. In testimony whereof I aflix my sigmatum.

ALBERT LEHMANN. 

